Aftermath
by Chiirios
Summary: In the aftermath of a war against the Mushroom Kingdom, the Koopalings are left with nothing. They've lost their home, they've been split up, and are now being hunted by Mario and Luigi. To make matters worse, their dear old dad has gone missing. Can the group of Koops survive, or will they perish at the hands of their worst enemies? Rated T for some violence and cursing.
1. Prologue

**Hello Hello Hello! I surely hope everyone enjoys my first "official" publication! Please feel free to review with feedback critiquing me.**

 **Prologue**

It had been a normal day. At least, as normal as any day in the middle of a war can get.

The King of Dark Land had snuck out early that morning in order to kidnap the crown jewel of the Mushroom Kingdom - Princess Peach Toadstool. She was a stunning young lady and the monarch of the land of the Toads. Bowser had a very troublesome crush on her, although she was way out of his league. He knew this, and yet, he still attempted all the time, without fail, to nab her in some way shape or form. It was almost not out of the ordinary to see the beast stomping through the Kingdom, crushing Toads in his wake, in order to grab the ruler.

However, this unnecessary kidnapping problem that King Bowser had was the reason that the two kingdoms were in the middle of a war in the first place.

An Italian plumber from the real world named _Mario_ had been insistent on stopping Bowser once and for all. He and his younger brother _Luigi_ had been on many escapades to save Princess Toadstool from the Dark Landian King. Mario had had enough of the giant turtle stealing his wife. Or rather his soon to be wife. The two were planning on getting married sooner or later.

And so, the hero declared war against all of Dark Land on the eve of the full moon. Bowser was not worried at first. He was sure with his massive army, along with his brute strength, that he could win and finally rule over the Mushroom Kingdom, and soon, _The World._

However, when large masses of his troops started going missing, he started getting anxious. He took matters into his claws. The King snuck out early into the morning, leaving his trusty servant Kamek the Magikoopa in charge of his eight children.

Speaking of Kamek... well, he was currently calling down the children for breakfast that he had prepared. With the shortage of troops, most of the servants had been turned into soldiers, leaving very few to help out with the needs of the Koopa Kastle and its inhabitants.

"Koopalings! Bowser Junior! Hurry your slow butts down here and come eat breakfast before it becomes cold and unappetizing! The magikoopa cried.

 _I don't get paid enough for this..._

The first to come traipsing down the stairs was Morton. Traipsing was _definitely_ an accurate description. If his mouth didn't wake the others, his heavy steps sure did.

He was always the most eager for breakfast, seeing as he loved to eat. You could certainly tell that by his size if you rather assume than ask. He seemed to have been awake for a while. He was talking a mile a minute, per usual. Kamek could barely pick up what he was saying. Something about a flying Yoshi...? Maybe. It was probably a dream of his.

"-and then the thing stuck out its HUMONGOUS TOUNGE and swallowed King Dad whole! I was scared that King Dad was gone forever, but Roy picked up the Yoshi and tossed it onto Petey Piranha and WOW he came right out and-" He was cut off by the clacking of heels. Both he and Kamek turned to see Wendy gracefully walking into the room, phone in hand and claws manicured. She wore her bow atop her head but lacked her usual bracelets and pearl necklace.

"I can't believe Birdo is blaming _me_ for Pom Pom's absence! It's like, totally not _my fault_. If anything, it's King Dad's!" She stormed over the table and sat down, typing furiously on her handheld device. Kamek sighed. He snatched it from her hands and set it up on top of the fridge.

"Hey! I was in the middle of-"

"I don't care what you were in the middle of, young lady. You know the rules. No electronics at the table." Wendy huffed but said nothing in response. She crossed her arms and held a pouty look.

Kamek began setting food on the table, which Morton stared at hungrily. He reached his hand forward to grab a piece of bacon, but it was slapped away.

It was Ludwig. An odd occurrence at the table, seeing how he was usually down in the deepest sections of the castle, unable to hear Kamek's cries due to an experiment or something. His hair was very much disheveled and his eyes had bags underneath them. Perhaps he had not slept, although one could not be sure unless they asked.

"You can't wait until the rest of us are here? Surely you've learned _something_ in all your years of life." Ludwig monotoned, sitting down across from Morton.

"He can't possibly have. He talks too much. He's gottah listen more. Shut his trap." Roy came down and sat beside Wendy, who huffed again as the larger Dragon-Koopa sat down. Ludwig rolled his eyes, grabbing a fork from the middle of the table and neatly setting up his plate.

"It was a rhetorical question, you imbecile," Ludwig growled. Roy didn't seem to take Ludwig's words as they were meant to, and merely just shrugged them away.

"Oh calm down, Sir Cranky Pants. He's just putting in his input." It was Larry, who was sliding down the railing. Following behind him was Junior, who had his hair all ruffled and was stretching as he yawned. Luckily, the youngest member was not following in his older brother's footsteps and instead was walking down the stairs like a civilized child.

"Larry, you are going to fall! Stop that at once!" Kamek said, although his words went in one ear and out the other as Larry kept sliding until he reached the bottom. He slid on over and sat beside Roy.

"Well, at least he minded his own beeswax, unlike you," Ludwig muttered, watching Junior make his way to the table silently. He wasn't talkative in the mornings.

Shrieking came from somewhere down the hall, and Iggy ran in, laughing hysterically. Lemmy was close behind, rolling on a small ball.

"You guys! Iggy found Kusari! Y'know... his pet Chain Chomp?" Lemmy said, rolling over to the table. He jumped down and carefully waddled his way onto a seat. He was becoming a little better at walking, now that he'd had years of practice. His mohawk was a little messy, but that was usual for him.

Iggy happily wagged his long tail, drooling a little as he did. He sat down beside Ludwig and Lemmy.

"I SURE DID! HEY LUDDY-SAMA, DID YOU HEAR? KUSARI-CHAN WAS CHOMPING ON THE DRY BONES DOWN IN THE BASEMENT! HOW SICK IS THAT?" Ludwig rolled his eyes once again. He picked up a towel and wiped away all the drool that was settling on the table, thanks to his younger brother. Iggy jittered in his seat, unable to sit still. It annoyed everyone endlessly, but there was nothing they could do about it.

"Good, now that everyone's here, you can all dig in," Kamek stated, but everyone had already started grabbing the delicious looking foods.

"That's a.. pretty cool, Igs! You do neglect her very often, though. You have to feed her and give her everything she needs! It's unhealthy for a Chain Chomp not to get regular amounts of food and exercise. I mean, no wonder she gets lost so often - she's cooped up in your lab all the time, tied to a peg with nowhere to run!" Morton said, shoveling an entire pancake into his mouth.

"WelLLlllll you see Morty-Kun, I'm always vERy busy with creating things for King Dad, Luddy, and myself, or I'm playing with Lemmy or hanging out with you guys so sometimes I forget her and she, uh... escapes. Ehehehheh..." Iggy grabbed a strawberry very uncharacteristically and popped it into his mouth. Perhaps "the voices" weren't bothering him this very moment?

Morton waved Iggy's excuse off.

"Do I get a thank you?" Kamek asked.

In unison, they all replied with a thank you, a few of them having food in their mouths.

"You are very welcome. Now, onto the morning checklist. Iggy, you took your medication, correct?" He nodded, although it was clear he hadn't. Kamek grabbed an orange pill container from in one of the cabinets and handed it to Ludwig, who in turn popped it open and placed a pill beside the glass of milk Iggy had.

"Drink it, _with_ the pill this time, Ignatius," Ludwig instructed. Iggy visibly drooped but did as told.

"Now, Wendy, you cleaned your bathroom like your father ordered you to, yes?"

"Yeah, I did it last night. I was up _all_ night doing it!"

"You, up all night? I highly doubt that." Ludwig interjected, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I gotta agree with Kooky, sis. A princess does need her beauty sleep, after all." Larry joined in, although Wendy gave him a stern look and he quickly shut up.

"Has, uh, anyone seen King Dad? Doesn't he usually eat breakfast with us on days like this?" Lemmy asked, tilting his head like a puppy does.

"He's probably workin' on some scheme or somethin'. You know him. Busy wit' war an' all." Roy said.

"Actually," Kamek placed another plate of bacon on the table.

"You father snuck out this morning to go deal with some... 'matters', as he called it." He did air quotes on the subject of matters. Their father never dealt with matters. He left Kamek and Kammy to do that for him.

"He snuck out?" Wendy asked, genuinely surprised. Their father was a cumbersome creature and was not very good at sneaking.

"Well... more so, told me he was leaving. He said he'd be back by tonight if not by noon, so I wouldn't worry." Whenever Kamek told the Koopalings not to worry, their father was incinerated or thrown into space or something worse than that. The Dragon-Koopas had all been taught that when they were told not to worry, they should probably worry.

"He left me in charge, so you must do as I say." Roy almost spat out his milk.

"Highly unlikely, knowing my siblings, dear Kamek. They don't even listen to King Father." Ludwig said, taking another sip of his scalding, dark coffee.

"You say that like you're not included, Kooky," Larry said. Ludwig took this as he cue to get up, and he rose from his seat.

"Well, the idle chit-chat has been fun, but I must retire back to my study." Ludwig began walking towards the stairs.

The door he was about to leave slammed shut in his face, nearly hitting his snout.

"What was that for?"

"No one is to leave my sights. Your father said we might have to evacuate the castle if things get rough, and I do not want anyone to be separated. We will all be spending time together in the living room. Now, sit your behind down and wait for your siblings to finish." Ludwig growled under his breath but said nothing. He plopped back down into his spot.

Iggy began snickering, which escalated into cackling. Not unusual for him.

For the rest of breakfast, the eight children sat in silence, sans for Iggy's laughter and Morton quietly mumbling to himself.

It was about as peaceful as a morning could get for the Koopas. The rest of the morning was like that, up until about noon.

The nine of them had all made their way into the living room at some point and had pointedly placed themselves somewhere they hadn't moved from since. Except for Morton, who got up every five minutes to use the restroom.

Iggy was occupying himself in the corner, doodling in a sketchbook with a pen. Honestly, Kamek could care less about what he was drawing, but as he paced the room, he sometimes saw peeks of the child's strange drawings.

Lemmy and Larry were playing some sort of racing game on the TV. Larry was obviously winning, seeing as he had an excited grin and a big, blatant blue one was recognizable in his slot. Lemmy was in last but didn't seem to mind that much. His eyes looked normal, as he was super focused, and his tongue was out of his mouth and jerked to the left. He was busying himself with backing out of a corner.

Wendy was sitting on the couch. She was reading a magazine titled _Cheep Cheep Cheap Tips_ for the umpteenth time. Roy was snoring away beside her. Morton sat on the floor in front of them playing Solitare with himself at the glass coffee table.

Ludwig was standing near Iggy and was reading a Quantum Physics book that had come off the shelf. It was obviously was his, considering no one else in the household would be interested in it. Bowser Junior was a little ways away from the two geniuses, quietly playing trains by himself.

"AW YEAH, FIRST PLACE!" Larry cried. Roy looked up for a moment at his younger brother before settling back down again.

"It's not that much of a surprise, you know," Ludwig mumbled. He had slid down the wall and was now sitting Indian style on the floor.

"Oh please. You're just jealous of my skills."

"It doesn't take much to beat Lemmy."

"Hey!" Lemmy shouted, interrupting the two. He stood up, dropping the red controller he had been using.

"Kamek I'm boooooooooored." Lemmy whined.

"Yeah, I am too. Rereading this dumb magazine gets boring after a while."

Kamek sighed.

 _I really really wish I was paid more._

"I'm sorry children, but we are not to leave the company of one another. Perhaps you can-" He was interrupted by the sounding of an alarm.

It startled the Koopalings from their activities. They all bolted upright at once.

"You see? I told you. Now come along, little Dragon-Koopas. We mustn't waste time getting to the clown carriage."

"You mean we get to ride in dad's clown car? Awesome!" Larry chortled. Kamek nodded, and Larry did a little dance.

"Aw, sick!"

"Kamek, can I bring my card game?"

"Just leave it there, Morton. Come on. Single file, children. Down the steps."

The eight Koopas, in a line, all rushed down the stairs to the garage. There, they spotted their father's clown car. Iggy had designed the thing many years ago. It was wide enough to fit their father, so it could certainly hold all of them.

Ludwig climbed in first. He proceeded to lift Lemmy and Junior into the car before moving out of the way to let the others in.

Once all in, Kamek closed the door and buckled himself in.

 _Who knew there were seatbelts in this thing..._

"ILL DRIVE!" Iggy said hopping over to the steering wheel happily.

"You most certainly will not, my prince!" Kamek pushed the green haired Koopa over, taking the wheel for himself.

"Oh come onnnnn Kamek... _I'm_ the one who built this ole' do-hicky, after all! It needs a lot of enhancements, but hey, I still built it!" He wagged his tail happily. Kamek gave him a stern look, and he sat down unhappily. Lemmy buckled him in, happy that he had learned to do it himself and was now able to buckle others in as well.

Kamek groaned. There was no way he was going to let the young prince drive. He put the key in the ignition and clicked a button that began opening the garage.

"Is king dad gonna meet us somewhere?" Bowser Junior asked, worried for his father.

Kamek began lifting the craft into the air, ignoring BJ's question.

"Everyone must stay silent. Pretend as though we are on a stealth mission, young ones." Kamek said, turning for a second to overlook each Dragon-Koopa.

He turned back around and began making his way out of the garage.

The Klown Kar had been in the air a while. Too long. It was running low on gas, as it had not be filled before, and was very crowded. No one knew where they were going.

"Kamek, are we-" Lemmy was cut off by Roy's hand, instructed by Ludwig. They were silent, listening to the air around them. There was an unnatural humming noise. Not like that of the Klown Kar, but something entirely different. It had not been accompanying until about a minute ago.

Iggy perked up at the sound, his eyes narrowing. he knew exactly what it was.

 _A boMBer SHIp? Perhaps..._

He listened some more and instantly knew something bad was about to happen. The scales and fur on the back of his neck rose.

"Kamek-" There was a loud bang. The sound of cannons being fired, most likely. Iggy lowered himself to the bottom of the Koopa Kopter, terrified.

"We're under attack!" Kamek cried, but it was too late. A bomb made impact with the Kopter and down went the ship. It tilted sideways and Roy nearly fell out. He grabbed onto one of the other Koopas, but it was Lemmy. Not the best choice.

The two fell out of the ship, crashing towards the ground.

"LEMMYYY! ROYYY!" Iggy cried, running over to the other side of the Kopter, watching his siblings fall. Wendy grabbed him and pulled him back, the ship still rocking and bombs still whizzing by.

"Iggy! Be careful! You'll end up like-" A bomb whizzed close to her face and hit the side other side of the car, throwing her forwards. She plopped into Iggy, who in turn rammed into Ludwig. The Kar leaned massively to the side, and Ludwig barely held on. His claws began slipping, and he fell.

Larry helped Iggy up and immediately latched onto the older Koopa.

"N-now that Ludwig's gone, I'm counting on you to take care of me!" Larry cried. Iggy smiled, he dragged his brother towards the edge, and he began freaking out.

"We'll catch up with you guys later! Seee yaaaAH!" Iggy cried. He grabbed his smaller, younger brother and jumped overboard.

Morton began screaming. Wendy covered her ears and closed her eyes, terrified. And BJ? Well BJ was latched onto Kamek, crying hysterically. Kamek was knocked unconscious at the wheel. They were going down.

They crashed, and all three Koopas were tossed.

The eight children had been separated far from their home.

They were on their own.


	2. Chapter 1 - Big and Little

**Hello again! Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed the first chapter! Now we're onto the second chapter**! **Please read and review!**

* * *

 **Big and Little**

Roy was not aware he had fallen. In fact, as soon as he made an impact with the ground, he blacked out. It was funny to think that the largest Koopaling had no tolerance for falling from the sky. Meanwhile, Lemmy had fallen right on top of Roy. He had landed on the bigger Koopa's stomach, and although it probably hurt Roy, he was passed out so he didn't feel it. Plus, Lemmy was super light and small. It's not like he was as heavy as Morton, who would have definitely hurt Roy more.

Lemmy had been thankful for his younger brother being there to break his fall but now was unable to move. Every time he did, a searing pain shot through his leg.

And so, he was curled up on his brother's stomach like a cat. He was small enough to do so, and it certainly _was_ comfortable. Who knew Roy had such a comfy stomach?

He hadn't watched the ship go down due to the tears in his eyes, but he heard the crash. It sounded distant. A lot of time had passed since then.

Everything seemed so long ago. Now that he was just sitting here, he was starting to think.

 _What if we don't make it back to the castle? And what if Roy never wakes up? What if King Dad never shows up? What if we are stuck out here forever? And everyone else might be dead!_

Moving beneath him made him turn his head and forget his previous worries. Roy was finally waking up, to Lemmy's relief.

He suddenly sat up, and Lemmy fell forwards onto the ground.

"OWwwww!" He cried, tumbling onto the floor. Roy shook his head, rubbing the back of it.

"Ugh, what happened? Where am I?" Lemmy wanted to respond but was clutching his small leg and trying to hold back tears. Roy's vision focused, and he saw Lemmy rolling around on the ground in pain.

"Oh, sorry Lemmy. Were you laying on my stomach?" Lemmy nodded but didn't say anything.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Roy asked, already knowing the answer. He crept forward towards the smaller and took him in his big hands. Lemmy, with much difficulty, held out his foot as much as he could. Roy examined it closely, being careful not to touch the spot where it was blackening.

His leg was definitely fractured, if not broken. It was swollen and was bruising. It was probably going to hurt like hell later on.

"Well, I ain't no doc, but I'd guess it's probably broken or fractured," Roy said.

"How am I going to get around? I'll never be able to move again!" Lemmy cried out dramatically. He started wailing, actually terrified of the future.

"Chill big dude. It'll heal with time. For now, however..." He carefully lifted Lemmy up above his head and placed him on his shoulders. He was tiny, and therefore light, and got snuggly up there without giving Roy much trouble.

"There yah go, big guy. Now you don't have to walk. Er, attempt to. Once we find the others I'm sure Ludwig or Kamek will fix you right up." Lemmy seemed satisfied, judging by his happy grin.

"So, uh... what happened?" Roy asked. He carefully got to his feet, holding onto Lemmy, and looked around.

 _Where even are we...?_

"Well, I don't remember all that much. We were thrown out of the Klown Kar after an attack, I think."

"Hrmmm... any clue where we are?"

"Somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. Duh." Roy grunted.

 _Thanks for the description._

"Got any clue where the others went? Or how long I was out for?" Lemmy thought for a moment, looking out at his surroundings. He made L's with his hands to distinguish left from right.

This was the first time he actually had a good look at the area.

On the right was a vast sea of trees that stretched on forever. On the left was a plain, boring grassland with few trees dotting it. A small village was in the distance, awake and lively despite the setting sun. Far in the distance was a set of mountains that seemingly never stopped. The sun cast a low shadow off of everything, but those shadows would soon disappear and be replaced by pure darkness.

"They went that way," Lemmy pointed to the grassland. He remembered hearing the crash come from that direction.

"And I don't know how long you were out for. A while, I guess." Lemmy slumped, resting his head on Roy's.

"Cheer up, Lem. We'll find em. I just know it." Roy began walking towards the plains, not bothering to waste any more time. He did not want to be out and about by the time the moon was up. There were plenty of creatures that wouldn't take 'We're the King's sons' as a reason not to eat them.

They walked in silence for a while. Neither one knew what to say.

"Should we head for that village?" Roy asked, hoping his older brother would respond.

"If you want," It was not the answer he was hoping for, but Roy nodded his head in response.

"Okay, we'll head there. Let's just hope it's not filled with Toads who'll hate us." He waited a moment before continuing.

"And uh, Lemmy?"

"Hrm?"

"Let me know if you need anything, alright? I'm here for yah, bud." Lemmy quietly hummed in response but didn't say anything. Roy didn't push further, walking in the direction of the village. Again, they returned to silence. The only noise that filled the silence was that of Roy's footsteps and their synced breathing.

* * *

The moon was rising by the time they reached the village. The temperature had dropped severely, and Lemmy was practically shaking. He had no body mass to keep him warm.

Roy stomped into the village. It certainly wasn't small, but wasn't large either. Some of the lights in the houses flickered, and others were off. He walked past wearily, inspecting each house carefully. Each looked to be inhabited by a Toad family.

He knocked on one of the doors with lights that were on. He heard shuffling on the other side, and the door opened just a tad. A little Toad was on the other side. He was barely Lemmy's height, with a white top with yellow spots. He wore a yellow jacket with a white and black shirt underneath.

"Mooooooom! There are two weird monsters at the door!" The little Toad called. More shuffling came from behind the door, and it opened fully to reveal a yellow Toadette.

"What do you two Koopas want? You know you aren't allowed in the village!" Roy was confused but didn't think about it.

"We need somewhere to stay, ma'am. Me and my bro were attacked while on our ship. We ain't from 'round here, and it's freezin' out 'ere." The Toadette considered his words.

"I'm sorry, but we just can't let you in. Try somewhere else." The Toad was about to close the door, but Roy stuck his foot in the way. The Toad flinched back and let go of the door.

"Please, ma'am. My lil bro 'ere is gonna freeze to death, and I can't hold onto him much longer." The Toad frowned, kicking Roy's foot out of the way.

"No means no, mister. Go find someone else to let you homeless Cheeps into their home. Good. Night." She slammed the door, leaving Roy and Lemmy outside.

"Well, what a waste of time," Roy grumbled. Lemmy started coughing. Roy grabbed him from atop his shoulders and held him in his arms.

"R-Roy, I-I'm co-cold."

"I know, Lemmy. We'll find somewhere to stay. Don't worry." He carefully pat his older sibling's head, hugging him closely so that he could hopefully warm up the little Dragon-Koopa. He climbed down the steps and off the porch. He tried another door, but there was no response.

 _What am I gonna do if Lemmy dies? What will King Dad think? And what about Iggy? He'll tear my head off!_

 _Please hang tight, Lemmy. For both my sake and your own. I believe in you._

* * *

Again and again, they were either turned down or they got no response. Roy was starting to lose hope.

Finally, when they came to what seemed to be the last door in the village, they got a response. It was an older Toad, his face wrinkly from age. He had red spots and a red shirt on.

"Well, young fellers. What can I do for you?" Lemmy started coughing again, and Roy hugged him tighter.

"M-my bro and I really need somewhere to stay. It would just be for dah night, but it's freezin' out 'ere and I think Lemmy 'ere has caught somethin'. No one else has let us in and-" The old Toad stepped to the side, causing for Roy to stop talking.

"Come in come in. Sorry for the mess. My grandkids were just playing with their toys." Roy sighed, relieved that they had finally found someone nice enough to let them in. He stepped into the small house, ducking underneath the door frame.

"Thank you so much. It means a lot."

"Don't worry about it, young one. Now, just have a seat right there on that there couch. I'll get one of my grandkids to bring you guys some blankets to warm ya'll up while I make some tea." Roy sat down on the small fuzzy couch, setting Lemmy down beside him, leaning up against him. He was barely keeping his eyes open, and was still shivering.

 _It'll be alright, Lemmy. Just hang tight._

"Loretta! Lobelia! Lawrence!" The old Toad called. Down the steps ran three little Toads, almost like the one from the first cottage. The two females had red spots and wore red clothes, while the third had green spots and wore an arrangement of mix-matched cloths.

"These here Dragon-Koopas needed a place to stay. Can ya'll help them get situated? And go find your mother, Lawrence." The Toad made his way to what Roy assumed was the kitchen. The male Toad ran back up the stairs, presumably to go find their mother. One of the girls ran off in another direction and the final, smallest Toad ran up to the two.

"Hi! I'm Lobelia, but you can call me Lobby! What are your names?"

"Well I'm Roy, and this is my brother Lemmy." Lobelia hopped around happily. Her voice was squeaky, and she was so happy to make new friends.

"Those are awesome names! I wish I had a name that wasn't like my siblings'... My parents named me like Grandpoppa named his kids and Momma." Lobelia reminded Roy of Morton.

 _I hope he and the others are alright..._

The other female Toad, presumably named Loretta, returned, blankets in her hands. She handed them to Roy, who took both of them and wrapped them around Lemmy. He scooted closer to him, hugging him closely.

"I'm Loretta," The other female whispered. She seemed shy.

"Is there anything else we could get you?" Lobby asked. Roy nodded his head.

"Could you light the fire, maybe? I'd appreciate it, and I'm sure Lemmy would as well." Loretta nodded and padded over to the fire. Lobelia followed her over, interested.

The male Toad returned, an older Toadette following him.

"What did I need to be brought down here for, Lawrence?" She asked. She didn't seem to notice the two Dragon-Koopas sitting on the couch.

"Grandpoppa said to come find you. He's in the kitchen." The adult groaned, heading for the place in question. Lawrence chuckled, walking over to Roy and Lemmy.

The three Toads were so much smaller than Roy, but they were about Lemmy's size. It was so strange having so many others surrounding him that were so tiny in comparison.

The two finally got the fire started. Roy picked up Lemmy and walked on over to the fire, where he sat down. He put Lemmy in his lap.

"T-this is a lot better, R-Roy." He started coughing again. Roy pat his older brother's head, still concerned.

 _It'll be okay, Lemmy. I promise._

"I'm glad. Now, why don't you get some rest? You really need it." Lemmy snuggled closer to his sibling, closing his eyes and relaxing.

"Okay okay, kiddos. Get to bed now!" The grandfather Toad's voice came from behind Roy. It didn't seem to startle Lemmy, but it sure startled him.

"Oh come on, Grandpoppa!"

"Pllllease let us stay up!"

"Go on, get to bed now!" Roy listened to the kids' shoes shuffle up the stairs as he intently watched the fire.

"Laurie, I want you to meet Roy and Lemmy." Roy turned his head. The two older Toads had returned to his side.

"Greetings. I'm Laurie, and you've obviously met my father, Thomas." Roy nodded his head.

"I'm Roy, and dis is my brother Lemmy. I appreciate you letting us into your house." Laurie smiled, settling down beside Roy at the fire, although she was still little ways away. He didn't blame her. She had let a stranger into her house, and he wasn't even the same species.

She handed the Dragon-Koopa the cup of tea she was holding.

"It's terrible that no one else in the village would let a couple of poor young Dragon-Koopas into their home for the night." The grandfather, Thomas, said, sitting beside his daughter. He handed Roy the other cup of tea, and he placed it beside him. He'd give it to Lemmy when he woke up.

"Is your little brother alright? He was coughing before." Thomas asked. Roy cringed at the mention of Lemmy being younger but didn't say anything about it.

"I ain't sure. Lem seemingly broke his leg before, but I don't know 'bout the coughin'." Thomas and Laurie exchanged glances, and Laurie scooted closer to the two. Roy covered Lemmy with his arm, growling at her. He swished his tail and barred his teeth. Laurie flinched backward.

"Easy now. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt him. I just want to look at him and make sure he's okay. I promise I won't do anything." Roy hesitantly removed his arm but didn't stop the rumbling noise.

Laurie gently scooted closer until she was practically in Roy's lap with Lemmy.

"Lemmy, wake up," Roy said gently, tapping his brother's shoulder.

"Wha?"

"Dis 'ere is Laurie. She's gonna have a look at you, 'kay? She ain't gonna hurt you she says." Lemmy sat up, shaking his head as he did so. He blinked a few times and looked at Laurie.

"Wh-where are we?"

"Don't worry 'bout dat. I'll tell yah later. Just let the nice Toadette look over yah and then you can get back to sleep, 'kay?" Lemmy nodded his head.

"I'm going to look at your foot first, okay? Your brother said it might be broken. Does it hurt when I do this?" She touched his leg and he cringed. It definitely hurt.

She continued to look over him for a while, asking him questions and carefully reviewing what she was doing before she actually _did_ anything.

* * *

Finally, she had finished. Lemmy was thankful, and when she crawled out of Roy's lap he gladly took up that space by stretching himself out. He curled up like a cat once again, his foot laying out awkwardly as to not hurt it. He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he did.

 _Finally, I can rest. Today has been a loooong day. I'm glad to get some sleep._

"Roy?" Lemmy asked, interrupting something Roy was talking to the Toadette about. He opened his eyes and looked up at his younger brother.

"Huh? Wassup Lem?"

"Do you think Iggy is doing okay?" Roy hesitated for a moment. He sighed.

"I dunno, Lem. I'd hope so, but we got no way of knowin'. I can promise you dat we'll find em though, 'kay? Don't give up hope." Lemmy huffed, closing his eyes again.

"Get some sleep, bud. See yah tomorrow." Lemmy yawned and got situated again before finally falling asleep once again.

* * *

"You poor things. Do you have any idea where your parents are? Or where your home is?" Laurie asked. Roy shrugged.

"We ain't got any clue were King Dad is. And no idea where home is either. We're pretty far away from it, dat's all I know." Thomas raised his eyebrows at the mention of the word 'King', but didn't say anything.

"You poor things." They went into silence. Roy nervously pet Lemmy's head like a cat's.

"What 'bout Lemmy? What's his condition?"

"Well, his leg is broken, but you already assumed that. His coughing just seems to be from the cold, as it has stopped. I would suggest keeping him out of the cold for as long as you can, okay? Why not stay here for another day or two?" Roy considered her option.

 _Well, I can't say that's a bad idea, but won't the others be worried about us? That is, if they're not worrying about themselves..._

"Dat sounds like a good idea, Doc." Laurie smiled, getting up from her seat. She took Roy's finished cup of tea from off the ground and Lemmy's untouched one and helped her father up.

"Well, we best be letting you get sleep. You need it. I bet your day has been a long one." Roy gave her a soft smile. The two Toads left the room, heading for the stairs.

"Sleep tight, boys. We'll take care of you tomorrow." Laurie flicked off the lights, leaving Roy in the dark with his own thoughts and his sleeping older brother.


End file.
